Heel holddown for ski binding

ABSTRACT

A heel holddown for a ski binding has a support formed with two lateral forwardly downwardly inclined grooves in which are received gudgeons carried on the ends of arms of a clamp which presses a skiboot heel against the face of a ski. In the middle of the clamp there is a throughgoing transverse pin which lies in one of a plurality of peripheral angularly equispaced notches formed in a barrel which is rotatable in the support about an axis parallel to the ski face and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ski. The barrel is formed of a pair of peripherally notched disks bridged by a plurality of angularly equispaced rods. A ball is urged by a spring radially toward the rods so as to hold the barrel in any of a number of predetermined angular positions corresponding to the number of rods. The barrel will therefore return to the angular position it is in so long as it is not rotated against the spring force from this position through an angle greater than half of the angular distance between rods, in which case the heel clamp will flip up and the pin will index the barrel into the next position. A heel plate adapted to lie between the skiboot heel and the ski face is pivoted on the support and linked to the pin so that it also flips up when the clamp does, and allows the user to reset the holddown by stepping on the heel plate.

United States Patent [191 Ramillon Mar. 25, 1975 HEEL HOLDDOWN FOR SKI BINDING [76] Inventor: Ren Ramillon, 3, Rue Emile Zola,

Grenoble, France [22] Filed: Nov. 26, 1973 [211 App]. No.: 418,822

[52] US. Cl 280/ll.35 T [51] Int. Cl. A63c 9/08 [58] Field of Search 280/1 1.35 T

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,575,438 4/l97l Unger 280/1 1.35 T 3,608,918 9/1971 Heckl 280/1 1.35 T 3,795,407 3/1974 Nagasaki 280/1 1.35 T

Primary Examiner Robert R. Song Attorney, Agent, or F irm-Karl F. Ross; Herbert Dubno [5 7] ABSTRACT A heel holddown for a ski binding has a support formed with two lateral forwardly downwardly inclined grooves in which are received gudgeons carried on the ends of arms of a clamp which presses a skiboot heel against the face of a ski. In the middle of the clamp there is a throughgoing transverse pin which lies in one of a plurality of peripheral angularly equispaced notches formed in a barrel which is rotatable in the support about an axis parallel to the ski face and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the ski. The barrel is formed of a pair of peripherally notched disks bridged by a plurality of angularly equispaced rods. A ball is urged by a spring radially toward the rods so as to hold the barrel in any of a number of predetermined angular positions corresponding to the number of rods. The barrel will therefore return to the angular position it is in so long as it is not rotated against the spring force from this position through an angle greater than half of the angular distance between rods, in which case the heel clamp will flip up and the pin will index the barrel into the next position. A heel plate adapted to lie between the skiboot heel and the ski face is pivoted on the support and linked to the pin so that it also flips up when the clamp does, and allows the user to reset the holddown by stepping on the heel plate.

10 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures 1 HEEL HOLDDOWN FOR SKI BINDING CROSS'REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is related to copending patent application Ser. No. 288,085 filed by me Sept. II 1972 for a SKI BINDING WITH HEEL HOLDDOWN DEVICE (now U.S. Pat. No. 3,807,748).

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a heel holddown for a ski binding. More particularly this invention concerns such a holddown for a safety binding which releases the users foot when subjected to a potentially dangerous strain.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A ski binding usually comprises a forked toe clamp under which the toe of the skiboot is placed and which can pivot about an axis perpendicular to the face of the ski when stressed beyond a predetermined limit so as to release the users toe. The skiboot heel is held under a clamp which clamps it down against the face of the ski, and which can be displaced upwardly from the face of the ski to release the heel when stressed beyond a predetermined limit. This action frees the skiers foot when he is pitched forward, and the action of the toe clamp frees his foot when his foot is twisted to avoid most ankle fractures and sprains. Means is provided to release the heel holddown to allow the skiboot to be freed from the ski manually.

It is usually necessary to adjust the heel holddown for the type of boot being used, and this adjustment must be periodically reset since use maladjusts the binding. In addition such bindings are often quite complicated, and therefore expensive and liable to failure, especially when fouled by ice and snow.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved heel holddown for a ski binding.

Another object is the provision of such a holddown which is simple in design but extremely rugged and sure in operation.

A further object is to provide a heel holddown which automatically self-adjusts for the skiboot heel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These objects are attained according to this invention in a heel holddown which has a support provided with a guide extending longitudinally of the ski at an angle to the face of the ski. A heel clamp is longitudinally slidable in this guide and is displaceable up away from the ski to release a skiboot heel which is normally clamped between the clamp end and the ski. The barrel rotatable about an axis parallel to the ski face but transverse to the ski is formed with a peripheral notch in which the clamp is engaged so that rotation of the barrel displaces the clamp up away from the ski. Means is provided on the support which engages the barrel to hold it in a predetermined angular position in which it holds the skiboot heel down, and which returns the clamp to this position so long as the barrel is not rotated through more than a predetermined angular distance. Displacement through more than this distance indexes the barrel into a new position and thereby releases the heel.

The holddown clamp according to the present invention has a pair of arms each carrying a formation in the form of a short pin or gudgeon which engages in a respective one of two grooves that serve as the inclined guide. These two arms are interconnected by a traverse pin which sits in the notch of the barrel so that force ex erted upwardly on the clamp end operates this clamp as a lever to both pry up the rotatable member and force the gudgeons down into the grooves. Springs according to a further feature of the invention urge the gudgeons back and up in the grooves so as to bias the clamp end of the clamp down on the boot. These springs therefore permit a certain amount of vertical play in the front of the clamp element so as to obviate any necessity of adjusting it for heel thickness. At the same time the considerable spring force insures that the skiboot is held securely.

In accordance with yet another feature of this invention the support is formed with a throughgoing cylindrical transverse bore in which a barrel formed of a plurality of parallel rods extending between two like peripherally notched disks is received. The notches of the disks constitute the groove in which the transverse pin of the clamp member lies. These disks tightly cover the ends of the bore so that entry of foreign matter is almost impossible, and the rod formation constituting the body of the barrel is almost impossible to jam, should something find its way into the bore.

According to yet another feature of the invention the elastic biasing means includes an abutment, a spring, and a ball in a bore which opens radially off the transverse hole journaling the barrel. The spring is compressed between the abutment and the ball which is pressed against the barrel body between the rods forming this body. The number of rods constituting the barrel body determines the angular offset between stable positions of the barrel. Thus with three rods the offset is 120, with four it is and so on. The abutment is a plug threaded into the radial hole and can be screwed in or out to vary the compression of the spring and thereby vary the force which it takes to rotate the barrel from one of its stable positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the heel holddown according to this invention mounted on a ski;

FIG. 2 shows the holddown of FIG. 1 in a sideelevational exploded view;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal section through the holddown; and

FIGS. 4 7 are side sectional views illustrating the holddown in various operative positions.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION The heel holddown shown in FIGS. 1 3 is adapted to be mounted on the top face of a ski 2 by means of a base plate 3 in which a support block 4 is slidable as described in my above-identified copending application. This block is made of aluminum and is formed with a transverse throughgoing cylindrical bore 5 which defines a rotation axis A for a barrel 1 formed of a pair of disks 6 secured together by a screw 8 lying on the axis and four rods 9 extending between the disks 6 and four spacers surrounding the rods 9 to hold the disks apart. The rods 9 are equispaced from the axis A and angularly equispaced around this axis. The disks 6 are formed with four in-line notches 7 of semicircular shape which are angularly equispaced around the barrel 1. A pivot pin 17 passes through the support 4 in back of the hole 5 and parallel thereto and has its ends journaled in the back ends of arms 33 of a heel support plate 18 having a pair of wings 34 adapted to embrace the heel 27 of a skiboot. Each arm 33 is formed with a throughgoing hole 19 of rhombic shape.

A heel clamp 23 has a front edge 32 formed by a cushioned rod which serves to clamp the heel 27 down on the plate 18. This clamp 23 has a pair of wings or side pieces 22 between which passes a transverse actuating pin 25 which passes through both rhombic holes 19 and is adapted to lie in the groove formed by two inline notches 7. The support 4 is formed on each side in back of the barrel 1 with a pair or like guide grooves 16 inclined to the upper face of the ski 2 but extending generally longitudinally of the ski 2. Each side piece 22 of the clamp 23 is provided with a short gudgeon 21 which rides in the respective groove 16, and on each side of the block 4 is a spring 26 mounted on an end of a rod 35 passing through the support 4 above the grooves 16. These springs 26 are of the hairpin type with one end bearing on the respective pin 21 and the other end bearing on the respective disks 6 so as to urge the entire slidable clamp 23 back on the support 4. At the same time the springs 26 tend to pivot the clamp 4 back on the pivot 25 and bring the edge 32 down into snug engagement with the top of heel. In this manner the springs 26 urge the end 32 down onto the top of the heel 27 so long as this heel has a thickness within the range normally employed in the skiboot industry.

The barrel 1 can be held in any of four predtermined stable positions by an elastic biasing arrangement 36 'which is fitted in a bore 12 that is internally threaded and that extends radially backwardly from the bore 5. The end of the bore 12 is closed by a screw-type plug 13 which constitutes an abutment for one end of a spring whose other end bears on steel ball 14 which presses radially against the barrel 1 and is adapted to engage between two adjacent rods 9 and spacers 10 to hold the barrel 1 in one of the four stable angular positions. Rotation of the barrel 1 is resisted by the arrangev ment 1 so long as it is not displaced through 45 or more (see FIG. 7) in which case the barrel moves to the next stable position.

The heel holddown described above functions as follows:

As shown in FIG. 3 a skiboot heel 27 is normally clamped by the end 32 against the plate 18. So long as the heel 27 is not lifted the ball 14 rests securely between two of the rods 9, 10 thereby fixing the pivot axis 25 of the clamp 23. The gudgeons 21 lie in this position in central region l6c'of the grooves 16, these regions lying at an angle of almost 90 to the ski 2 and terminating in sections 16a and 16b lying at angles of about 55 and respectively.

In case of a fall or the like the heel 27 is lifted as shown by arrow 28 in FIG. 4 to raise the end 32 as shown by arrow 29. This action first brings the gudgeons 21 down onto the sections 16b, and then rotates the barrel 1 as a result of the force of the axis pin on the disks 6. So long as the upward forceon the boot does not serve to displace the barrel through more than 45 the barrel will not index, but will return to the position of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 shows how if the boot continues to move up, it will pivot the barrel through 45 and the heel 27 will move out from under the clamp end 32 and be freed of the holddown. In this position the gudgeons 21 are snapped up in the grooves 16 to the sections 16a.

Should the user want to free his boot he need merely place the point of one of his ski poles in a depression 37 formed in a piece 24 bridging the back ends of the two arms 22. The mechanical advantage gained by the force exerted on the end of the elongated clamp 23 which is pivoted at 25 first pushes the two gudgeons 21 down on the ramps 16c, then forward on the ramps 16b. As the slide 23 is forced forwardly by the action of gudgeons 21 on the ramps 16c the pivot pin 25 is pushed out of the notches 7 and the entire slide clamp 23 is pivoted on the gudgeons 21 in a sense to raise the front end 32. This action frees the heel 27 of the boot so that the skier can take off his ski. The pin 25 will slide up and lock in place in the next pair of notches 7. Whether the heel clamp 23 flips up in response to an excessive force to protect the skier, or whether he opens the holddown manually, the support plate 18 will raise also, entrained by the action of the pivot pin 25 in the holes 19. In order to lock his boot to the ski the skier first places his toe under the toe fork and then as shown in FIG. 7 steps down with his heel on the plate 18. The holes 19 therefore push the pivot pin 25 downwardly with a considerable force due to the mechanical advantage gained by the length of plate 18 to overcome the force of spring 15 and roate the barrel 1 clockwise as shown in FIG. 7. Oncethe barrel is displaced through more than 45 the slide 23 snaps down and secures the heel 27 tightly in place.

Since the major component of displacement of the end 32 is in a direction perpendicular to the ski 2, the boot is not compressed longitudinally between the heel and two clamps. The adjustable mechanism 36 allows the skier to maneuver without danger of his bindings opening, but protects him against the type of strain that could injure him.

I claim:

1. A heel holddown for a ski binding, said holddown comprising:

a support adapted to be mounted on the face of a ski;

a longitudinal guide on said support inclined to said ski face;

a heel clamp longitudinally slidable in said guide and having an end displaceable transversely to said face and engageable over a ski boot heel to clamp said heel against said ski face;

an actuating member mounted on said support for rotation about a transverse axis generally parallel to said ski face and formed with a notch displaceable away from said ski face on rotation of said member, said heel clamp being positioned for engagernent in said notch in at least one angular position of said member, said notch being displac eable out of engagement with said clamp on rotation of said member from said position through a predetermined angular displacement; and

means on said support for elastically returning said member to said position on rotational displacement thereof through an angular displacement less than said predetermined angular displacement.

2. The holddown defined in claim 1 wherein said member is a barrel formed with a plurality of such peripheral angularly equispaced notches, said clamp having a pair of sides each provided with a gudgeon riding in said guide and having a pin bridging said sides and engageable with said notches, said holddown further comprising spring means on said support and engaging said gudgeon for urging same away from said ski boot.

3. The holddown defined in claim 2 wherein said barrel is formed on a pair of peripherally notched disks and a plurality of rods interconnecting said disks and equispaced from and about said axis.

4. The holddown defined in claim 3 wherein said means for returning includes an element radially en-- gageable between said rods and means for urging said element radially toward said rods with a predetermined force.

5. The holddown defined in claim 4 wherein said element is a ball and said means for urging includes a spring and a radially displaceable abutment.

6. The holddown defined in claim 2 wherein said support is formed with a pair of outwardly directed grooves constituting said guide and each receiving a respective gudgeon.

7. The holddown defined in claim 6 wherein said support has a rigid block secured to said ski.

8. The holddown defined in claim 7, further comprising a heel plate having an end adapted to lie between said heel and said face of said ski and a pair of arms extending back from said heel and embracing said support, and a pivot on said support defining for said arms of said heel plate a transverse pivot, said plate being formed at its arms with a pair of transversely in-line holes, said pin passing through said holes.

9. The holddown defined in claim 8 wherein said heel plate is formed with a pair of transversely spaced wings adapted to embrace said heel.

10. The holddown defined in claim 7 wherein each of said grooves has a first section of relatively steep angle with said face and normally engaging its respective gudgeon with said heel clamped by said end against said face, and a second section formed as a continuation thereof of a relative flat angle with said face and normally engaging its respective gudgeon when said member is rotated from said predetermined angular posi- 

1. A heel holddown for a ski binding, said holddown comprising: a support adapted to be mounted on the face of a ski; a longitudinal guide on said support inclined to said ski face; a heel clamp longitudinally slidable in said guide and having an end displaceable transversely to said face and engageable over a ski boot heel to clamp said heel against said ski face; an actuating member mounted on said support for rotation about a transverse axis generally parallel to said ski face and formed with a notch displaceable away from said ski face on rotation of said member, said heel clamp being positioned for engagement in said notch in in at least one angular position of said member, said notch being displaceable out of engagement with said clamp on rotation of said member from said position through a predetermined angular displacement; and means on said support for elastically returning said member to said position on rotational displacement thereof through an angular displacement less than said predetermined angular displacement.
 2. The holddown defined in claim 1 wherein said member is a barrel formed with a plurality of such peripheral angularly equispaced notches, said clamp having a pair of sides each provided with a gudgeon riding in said guide and having a pin bridging said sides and engageable with said notches, said holddown further comprising spring means on said support and engaging said gudgeon for urging same away from said ski boot.
 3. The holddown defined in claim 2 wherein said barrel is formed on a pair of peripherally notched disks and a plurality of rods interconnecting said disks and equispaced from and about said axis.
 4. The holddown defined in claim 3 wherein said means for returning includes an element radially engageable between said rods and means for urging said element radially toward said rods with a predetermined force.
 5. The holddown defined in claim 4 wherein said element is a ball and said means for urging includes a spring and a radially displaceable abutment.
 6. The holddown defined in claim 2 wherein said support is formed with a pair of outwardly directed grooves constituting said guide and each receiving a respective gudgeon.
 7. The holddown defined in claim 6 wherein said support has a rigid block secured to said ski.
 8. The holddown defined in claim 7, further comprising a heel plate having an end adapted to lie between said heel and said face of said ski and a pair of arms extending back from said heel and embracing said support, and a pivot on said support defining for said arms of said heel plate a transverse pivot, said plate being formed at its arms with a pair of transversely in-line holes, said pin passing through said holes.
 9. The holddown defined in claim 8 wherein said heel plate is formed with a pair of transversely spaced wings adapted to embrace said heel.
 10. The holddown defined in claim 7 wherein each of said grooves has a first section of relatively steep angle with said face and normally engaging its respective gudgeon with said heel clamped by said end against said face, and a second section formed as a continuation thereof of a relative flat angle with said face and normally engaging its respective gudgeon when said member is rotated from said predetermined angular position. 